6th annual OTM Beard Camp

Sam, Jon, Aaron, on the ridge to Ibapah.

Ibapah peak is located in the Deep Creek Mountain range on the Utah/Nevada border. It's elevation tops out at 12,087'. It is a difficult peak to bag due to the elevation and remoteness. The trail is very rugged and often disappears. The last time Steve and I were there was October of 2013, some three and a half years. We had such a good time bagging Red Mountain, now known to us as Satan's Ass, that Steve was unable to summit Ibapah with me due to cold and fatigue. We vowed to come back and have been cooking up the idea of a winter camp for a few years.

One of our biggest concerns was just getting to the trailhead. The quickest way from SLC is to go through Wendover. Then you head south for a few hours traveling over 50 miles on dirt roads. The remote area does not see snow plows, however the west desert doesn't usually see too much snow on the valley floor. So we set off with high hopes and were able to drive exactly where we needed to. Steve set out the night before with the slower people in order to sleep at the trailhead and get an early start. Aaron, Jon and I left early Friday morning and started hiking a few hours after the first group.

Drew, Jeremy, Matt, Gregg

Hiking up the canyon was relatively inconsequential. The air was crisp and chill with blue skies, perfect for hiking. The first two miles follow a dirt road which turns into a nice single track trail. The elevation gain is moderate. We followed the tracks of the earlier group and didn't need to put our snowshoes on until we caught up to them about four miles in. From there we started tracking out the trail as the terrain started to climb considerably. We still had another two miles to reach our destination for base camp. It is a large meadow near the saddle ridge between Satan's Ass and Ibapah. Not long after we started tracking out the trail the mountain got extremely steep. Fresh snowfall from the week before made it difficult with heavy packs and snowshoes. After about half an hour with very little progress we started to wonder if we had gotten off trail somewhere. In a matter of a few minutes several decisions were made in haste.

Map and stats for Ibapah winter camp.

Off trail, just before it got hard and we all split up.

Jon scouted around a ridge to see if the terrain got any better. Matt, who loves to join us even though he lives at sea level, had been battling altitude sickness and just turned around with his friend Gregg. They planned to return to a flat spot not far back that was camp worthy. Steve, torn between staying with his buddies and helping his brother, frantically tried to divvy up the breakfast food among the two parties. Not a minute after Steve turned around Jon returned with bad news. The terrain was steep and cliffy on the other side of the ridge. It was then I realized we were on the south side of the canyon heading up the face of Satan's Ass. We should have been on the ridge to the north. We decided to head straight down the mountain in an effort to get back on track. Arriving at a flat area at the base of the slope and feeling fatigued from the exertion of the climb we shook off the idea of another mile or so of hard climbing to the meadow. We dropped our packs and started setting up camp. If Matt and Steve had waited just five minutes and stayed with us to this point we'd have all camped in a single area. Life is never that simple.

Base Camp. SamDEW, Skulking Drew, Bomber Stephen, Smuggler Jeremy and Puffy Jon.

The evening was spent collecting fire wood, eating and sharing stories. It was fun to get to know Steve's nephew, Jeremy and his friend Stephen. They were the rookies of the trip and they seemed to be doing well. I haven't seen my buddy Drew for a while either and it was nice to catch up with him. Before turning in Jon had the idea of filling a water bottle with boiled water and stashing it in the sleeping bag. It was a face palm moments for me. I've been doing this for years and never considered it.

In our camp, Jon, Aaron and I were the peakbagging trail runners. We planned to get up around 7:00am and be on the trail to the summit around 8:00am. Drew and the rookies didn't feel up to climbing to 12,000' through deep snow. They also didn't want us to leave before they cooked breakfast. Drew tried convincing me to go down to the other camp and eat with them but peak baggers gotta bag peaks. After we prepared our day packs and had a candy bar for breakfast we wished them well and were off. I worried a little bit about them finding their way back to the other camp or the cars but after about 20 seconds of that, peak fever took over and I left them to their own demise. :)

Has anyone seen a meadow?

Dismayed Aaron and Happy-go-lucky Jon.

We expected about 3.5 miles to summit. We thought it would be about three hours to summit. We hoped the clouds would clear to a beautiful day. We hoped it wouldn't be too windy and the temperature would be somewhat bearable. None of our wishes came true, but we still had a marvelous grueling wonderful time. Aaron's description of the day: "Yikes! One of the hardest single mountain adventures I've ever done!"

We started the climb expecting to find the meadow at any time. After about a mile we angled more north. We were somewhat confused when we reached a ridge. For a moment we almost went down the other side, thinking we were not quite to the meadow yet. Then it dawned on me that we had somehow bypassed the meadow and if we went down we'd be headed toward Nevada. From here we followed the ridge all the way to the summit. I felt really good and somehow ended up tracking it out the entire way. The wind blew a fierce warning of cold death regularly. There were two spots that we were a bit worried about the avalanche danger. We stayed as close to the ridge as possible and didn't have any problems. The cloud cover was relentless and only parted for one brief moment revealing the summit to be still very far off. When we finally hit the base of the last climb there was a rock bench we sat on for a few minutes. Exhausted, we refueled an enjoyed the moment's respite. I think Aaron might have sat down and died there if I didn't poke him with my trekking pole.

Last brutal climb, almost to the summit.

The last ascent to the summit was the most brutal of all. We had about 600' to climb in a half mile to reach the 12,087' summit. Snowshoeing at that elevation was arduous. The fatigue of the climb to get that far made it slower than we had hoped. The sky was still shrouded in cloud and the wind blew. The snow was not deep due to the rocky terrain and constant wind on the ridge. In fact we often saw remnants of the actual trail. The little snow that was there was crusty with a thin layer of fresh powder. The steepness of this ascent was much more difficult due to the amount of sliding we did in these conditions. It was brutal and tiring, often causing us to crawl and claw our way up the slope.

Happy to be on the summit. 

It took five hours to summit. No easy feat. It was exhilarating to be above 12,000' in winter conditions. A huge accomplishment. We refueled, drank Dew, Mayurasana, you know, all the regular shenanigans. I had a brief moment of cell service so I sent a few texts to my wife and Steve informing them we'd be really late. The descent was almost pleasant compared to the effort we'd made on the way up. Still, no blue skies and still very cold temps. We decided to cut through the meadow, shortening the return trip. Upon arrival at camp we rested briefly before the cold forced us to keep moving.

Map and stats of the ascent to Ibapah peak from the winter base camp.

Unfortunately, we had to clean up a mess that the rookies left. After getting everything ready and loaded we went straight down the mountainside until we reached the area the actual trail should be. It wasn't long before we connected to the route we had taken up. It was dark when we returned to the cars. An amazing, freezing, tiring, brutal, splendid day. We spent about 10 hours on snowshoes and our bodies were past ready to rest and recover. It will be hard to top this year's beard camp. We'll probably go back sometime. Until then, I have to agree with Aaron, It was "one of the hardest single mountain adventures I've ever done!"

Video by Aaron.

3rd Annual OTM 100

Willard Peak.

by Sam

Earlier this year, my wife gave birth to our third child. Then, mid summer we moved to a new home which I have spent the last 3.5 months remodeling. Due to these major life changes my running schedule has been significantly reduced this year. Originally, I was going to sit this year out but Logan persuaded me to go for the 100. Steve has also not trained as much as last year. He found himself in a similar situation. Steve and I started the 100 but later decided to drop, me at mile 22, Steve at the 50.

This year's OTM Bandit Races had the best showing yet. First and foremost, this year belongs to the new and upcoming talent of Logan Ledford and Kalina Zufelt. Both are relatively new to trail running and have set new records for the OTM course. This was a huge accomplishment, being the first 100 miler for both of them to attempt and complete. I couldn't be more excited for this triumph. More importantly, this race is the perfect closer to the wonderful year I've had sharing trails and adventures with them both. They are true friends who I admire. When I grow up maybe I can be like them.

Chris Krash and Dave Crookston both finished the front 50. Tim Shupe is the first ever Monkey's Crack 50 finisher (that's the back half, starting at night). After I dropped and subsequently Steve, we spent the remainder of the time crewing. We both found this very gratifying. All who have participated in the Wasatch 100 and run our course have commented that our course matches or exceeds the difficulty of Wasatch. Being a bandit run, the OTM 100 adds different challenges than a sanctioned race with aid stations, crowds and finish lines. No one shows up to see you finish a bandit run. The satisfaction is yours alone, which makes it somewhat more meaningful in my opinion.

Logan on Ben Lomond. Finishing Time: 31:24

Kalina approching Willard Basin. First female to run it. Finishing Time: 33:20

Are your Feet Pickled yet?

I've always enjoyed running in circles. I ran the mile and 2 mile in high school. A few years back I started running the revolution run and didn't mind going in circles for five hours. I have thought about running loop races at the ultra level for a couple years now but just have never pulled the trigger. When I heard about the Pickle Feet race in Boise Idaho last year I thought it was time to jump in and try it. I figured I would start with the 12 hour race just in case I didn't like running in circles for 12 hours much as I did for five. Then I would step up to 24 hours.  

Training for a race of this caliber I really didn't know how. I did a little research and never found much on training for ultra distance on a loop. My philosophy was to beef up my daily miles and run my long distance runs faster then goal pace. I did do some training running in circles. I did a marathon in liberty Park in 3:24 and a 20 miler at night doing Swinski 5K's. 

In prepping for this race we found out that my wife has a friend that lives in Boise and quickly contact her to see if we could stay with her. This made it easy for my wife and kids to hang out there while I ran.  

Laying awake in bed the day before the race I looked at the clock it was 7:30 AM. I had this thought to myself it's going to be dark at 6 AM tomorrow. I then panicked, I didn't bring a headlamp. Last thing I want to do is try to run in the dark the first few laps on borrowed light. While at the store I found a nice little hand held flashlight that had about 60 lumens.  

The race started Eagle Island State Park just northwest of Boise. The course was on a 2.6 mile flat loop with little elevation change. My wife was kind enough to drive me to start of the race. She volunteer for a couple hours and crew me in the beginning. 

I ran the first two laps comfortably with a lady that was a local and had done the race before. We chatted away in the lead in the 26 degree weather. Loop three was my fastest, after taking a quick pit stop I picked the pace up to a 7:30 to catch the leaders and pass the them. 

I managed to keep a sub nine pace for the first 3 to 4 hours. Finished my first Marathon in 4:01 and felt great. Continued on to finish my first 50 K in about 4:49. 

My strategy was to rotate directions every two hours for a change of scenery. This also gave me an opportunity to see how the competition was feeling and stacking up. 

I made a point to talk to people and learn their names to encourage them. Intern this would boosted there energy. Then their smiles would created energy that that fueled me and boosted my spirit. It was a continual cycle throughout the whole race. 

It worked for almost everybody in the race except for one lady. Every time I pass her she would say nothing and looked right past me as if she didn't hear me or I wasn't there. I then made it my goal to make her smile or acknowledge me. A simple good job or you're doing great didn't work. Then I tried something louder "Whoooooo Hooo, you're rocking it". That didn't work either. I think I scared her more then helped her. I didn't think I would break her but near the end she finally told me "good job". She may have found me annoying and obnoxious. That is never my intent. Everyone race strategies are different.  

At about 6 hours my stomach went a little sour. I revived it on Mtn Dew and cantaloupe. During races I eat what ever I want. But this time I stuck to PB&j, casadillas and breakfast burritos. I normally drink lots of water. They provided Tailwind for the race. I decided to try it and I think it helped. I need to experiment with it more on my long runs. 

My pace slowed a little between 50 K and 50 miler but still felt really good. Finished the 50 in a respectable time of 8:01. 

I now only had four hours more to run. I found a second wind and pick the pace back up to 8:30. 

In the last hour they opened up a shorter loop about .26 of a mile. This allowed you to get in more miles if you could didn't think you could finish the big loop in the time allowed. With 30 minutes to go I decide to play it safe and join everybody on the short loop.  

 

In 12 hours I was able to get in 73.454975 miles. Finished in first place overall and set a new course record. 

I couldn't have accomplish this with out the my many friend helping me train. My super awesome wife for allowing me time to train. Endurance Athletics for supporting my addition to run faster and farther. Tyler has a great running store. You can get everything you need for your next race, grand adventures and every day fitness. 

Now to find a 24 hour loop race!

National No-Headlamp Day

 By Steve

seems familiar

Yesterday, my headlamp was stolen as I stashed it behind a rock up Adam's Canyon.  It was there about 30 minutes at 5:00am.  There are shady people in the mountains folks.   At any rate, my headlamp was stolen.  But the good news is that I'm pretty sure that because this was a leap year, we have one day with more sunlight than all the other days, which happens to be yesterday.   See... I'm being looked over.  So, a day late, we celebrated my stolen headlamp.

At any rate.  To celebrate National Ain't Got A Headlamp day, Matt Ricks and I took a jaunt to the church to do some summer solstice soul searching.  Unfortunately, the church had been overrun by lepers.  But after singing a gorgeous soulless solace solstice chorus about the good view on Grandview, we departed, having returned better men.

Chris' summer home

2nd Annual OTM Peakfest

Kalina, Aaron, Sam, Jeremy, and Dave on the Bonny Stairs. Pic by Steve.

by Sam

As I drive through Utah's west desert I wonder why there are roads out in the middle of nowhere. The landscape is mostly a drab grayish brown. There is no water. Dry lake beds have turned to salt flats. The vegetation is virtually non existent. The views aren't necessarily that great...until you get up into the mountains. Or drive around a corner and find a random peak that doesn't look like it belongs in the area at all. Or get out of the car to explore the dry lake bed salt flats. You'll find out that among the wasteland there are hidden gems that you will never forget.

Last year's peakfest included Notch peak, which is the second highest vertical drop off (2,200') in the United States after El Capitan. Unfortunately, we were shrouded in cloud and didn't get to see any of the spectacular views. So we decided to return this year with the hopes of better weather. Luckily, we didn't have any cloud cover and were able to gaze into the Notch and the surrounding spectacular views. There were, however, 60 mph winds. Steve decided to bring colorful language but I decided to bring kites. While we were there we decided to loop around to the north on Sawtooth Mtn. I suggest always including Sawtooth. Notch peak can't truly be appreciated until you see it from Sawtooth.

Jeff's throne on Sawtooth, Notch peak in the background.

Map & Stats for Notch Peak and Sawtooth Mtn.

Map & Stats of Fossil Mtn.

After going back down the awesome slot canyon trail from Notch we ate some sushi and hopped in the car to head down to Fossil Mtn. Along the way we stopped at a dry lake bed salt flat to play around in the wind. Fossil Mtn is on the southern end of the Confusion Mountain Range. It's named for the numerous fossils that can be found. At first glance you don't really see any fossils. Of course for a bunch of peak bagging trail runners we don't spend much time looking for them. However, after we found a few and knew what to look for Aaron and I spotted a lot more. The summit is covered in white-orangy rocks that are fun to bound around on. The winds picked up quite a bit while we were there so we didn't stay as long as exploration might allow.

Salt Flats Fun.
Dave, Aaron, Steve, Jeremy

Fossil Mtn.

Our final destination of day one was Crystal Peak. Chris had been nursing a strained Achilles so he chose not to play on the peak and set up camp instead. Crystal peak is located on the northern tip of the Wah Wah Mountains. A peak composed of white volcanic sedimentary rock, it stands out among the drab brown of the west desert. The peak has innumerable small wind blown crevasses that make its cliffs easy to climb but also treacherous since the stone erodes easily. Add 60 mph winds into the mix and that could be a recipe for disaster. We climbed it anyway. Several times I found myself hugging the rock for dear life as the wind wouldn't stop laughed in my face.

Crystal Peak.

Jeff and Jeremy climb Crystal Peak. Pic by Dave.

It was loads of fun. The summit provides spectacular views. After going down the back of the peak we circled around and had a spectacular traditional steak and chicken dinner, sat around the camp fire and fell asleep watching the latest Rocky movie, Creed.

Map & Stats of Crystal Peak.

We spent most of the night tearing off clothes due to how hot it was and also praying the tent wouldn't get blown away. We had a few close calls and it seemed like we didn't get a wink of sleep. A good ultra runner learns to deal with little or no sleep. We somehow find the strength to carry on despite having little rest. After breakfast we broke camp and drove around the corner to Painted Rock, which proved to be somewhat of a let down. If not for the slick rock pots on the south side of the mountain we would have drove away disappointed. Only half our group made it over to the Pots. We could've spent all day exploring that area but after we were satisfied enough we continued in our journey.

Leapin' Aaron.

Logan climbing the dirty slots.

Hot Pots

Map & Stats of Painted Rock

The Hasselhoffs. Pic by Kalina

Our last destination of Peakfest was Kingtop Peak. I have been interested in Utah's top 100 prominent peaks and Kingtop ranks #60. The peak itself is not spectacular. It's more of a bump on a ridge without distinguishing features. Reports usually include driving on bumpy roads from the north to within a mile or so from the summit. However, we took the Bonny Stairs Gulch from the east. Best decision ever! It was amazingly scenic and rugged.

The Bonny Stairs Gulch

As we sat on Kingtop we gave one of the best Happy Birthday renditions in several different languages for Kalina. Logan looked at me and said in his suggestive way, "which way are we going back down?" I pointed to the mouth of the gulch and said, "the fun way, of course." It was by far the best way to end this epic adventure. Even Steve got over some of his aversion to rock climbing and heights as he led the group back down into the Gulch after summitting Kingtop. I'd go back to that area any day. Good times, good friends, peaks, scrambling, wind, fun.

Dave, Jeremy, Logan, Jeff, Chris, Sam, Steve, Kalina, Aaron

Map & Stats of all destinations covered.